Hello to everyone that posts here on the Patient for Medical Modesty blog. This blog was started because the need for people to vent about medical modesty was needed. Dr. Maurice stated on his blog (Patient Modesty: A More Significant Issue?) that he thought it was time for a new blog to be started for this topic.
One of the goals of this blog is to increase awareness of the need for patient modesty. Not only does the medical profession tend to minimize the need for patient modesty and their concerns, but many patients are not aware that they DO have choices in their medical care. This lack of patient knowledge and indifferent, rigid medical habits have created situations where some people may have mental scars for years.
I am going to ask that eveyone please sign a name, it need not be your real name) and identify yourself as an individual or medical professional (doctor,nurse, technician, etc.) My intent is to show the results of this blog to different medical facilities and start increasing the awareness of the medical community to the need for patient modesty and dignity.
Thank you
Plain Jane
Individual
10 comments:
Thank you for starting this blog. I feel very strongly about the issue and I support your efforts.
Nice move, Janet.
I'll be reading and posting
more soon.
Bill Baldwin
Los Angeles
Thank you for starting this blog. It is greatly needed.
Indeed, some people do not know they have a choice in care, some feel the medical people always know best, and the whole thing leads to disempowerment at best, and assault and battery without legal recourse at worst.
I'll bookmark this page and post soon.
Beth
The general attitude amongst medical professionals towards patient modesty is that it is an issue which can cause them inconvenience. It is "easier" for them if the patient is totally naked in the OR because they might have some extremely remote need to access the genital area.
It is purely "we have always done it this way" and has virtually nothing to do with patient safety.
The usual "we are all professionals" and "we have seen it all before" may make them feel better, it is absolutely no comfort to me.
The ONLY need for nakedness should be absolute necessity, not a vague remote possibility of need.
As regards same gender practitioners, this may prove a minor inconvenience on the scheduling of their rota, surely the patient should come first, not their convenience?
Nurses blogs often mention how extra care is given to protecting the modesty of colleagues - why should that be so, surely we all merit the same considerations?
Action on this issue is LONG overdue, compliant silence is no longer the way for patients to accept unnecessary intusions into their own personal privacy.
The most important thing when seeking medical care is that the patient feel that they have a say in how things are done. This includes everything from the types of procedures to be performed to feeling that their opinions and feelings are taken seriously.
If a person is made to feel very uncomfortable because they are exposed more than the want to be, they may stop seeking medical care that they need.
Some people get so upset that they are not asked, that they just decide not to put themselves through this again.
What I would like to see is a standardized set of just a few questions that gives a range from 0 to 10 regarding how a person would feel about modesty issues and perhaps a comment block about their preferences.
It is often a lot easier to write down you thoughts on paper instead of immediately having to discuss intimate issues with someone you have just met, or to even have to question their normal way of doing things.
There are several blogs related to this issue, they have a lot of common threads. I think the ability to e-mail this a great idea. I am going to e-mail it to a couple of providers and see what they have to say, Jane, its your blog, do you feel it is appropriate to post specific experiences and name the institution though perhaps not the provider, both good and bad experiences?
A couple of related blogs, allnurse.com, google bioethics patient modesty a more significant concern for Dr. Bernstien, he also did one called Naked, and there is one voy.com but be prepared to sift through the absurb and cheap thrill seekers.
A couple very important points made above and is often raised
we fill out a small book of history as paitents, and there is not a single item on this, and two why are there different standards and procedures when providers are involved.....I think we know the answer to both, becasue its easier not address it and they can. The challenge is to change that.
I have sent two e-mails to a patient advocate at a hospital I went to for testing with no reply. I am calling next week if I do get an answer........I'll let you know what happens
Thanks Jane for the effort hopefully we can spread this JD
JD
I think personal experiences would be good, but probably would be best if we did not post the names of the institutions involved. I would hate to think that a post might put someone in a position of libel.
My husband told me that he read about a hospital in Texas that is suing a blogger for this very issue.
I appreciate your ideas and comments.
I found it interesting that you wondered about the need for an exhaustive history for the patient and not much use of it. Recently I saw a new doctor who took my personal history herself. She told me that she finds it helps her remember the patient better and triggers more questions.
Have a wonderful day!
Plain Jane
Just a quick note I e-mailed a patietn advocate at the facility I had an issue with, no answer, I e-mailed and asked for an acknowledgement, no answer, I have written the vice president of patient relations and will see where that goes, the point,,,,I am not giving up or going away, any suggestions on how we address these issues when they down play or ignore? On a positive note, there is a hospital in Indianapolis that has a web site where you can specifiy specific gender of your provider, a small step, but a step none the less. Only if we put the pressure on them will it come back, what was a compromise of patient modesty for nesesecity has become a compromise for convenience of providers....if we accept it not only will it not get better, it will get worse....so what do we do from here? jd
JD wrote:
On a positive note, there is a hospital in Indianapolis that has a web site where you can specifiy specific gender of your provider,
What hospital are you referring to? I haven't been able to get a hit on it. Thanks
JK
Medpage has links to some other doctor's blogs:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Blogs/
CLW
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